Hi! I came across this 1823 cent at a recent auction in Germany and wanted it since I obviously didn’t have this rare date in my collection. I hadn’t actually read up on the restrikes on these from the 1860s and onwards, so was curious to see if this actually is one of them. I assume it is, since it has the rim damage at 10-11 o’clock on the obverse, but it seems to be from an early die state since there are no die cracks. Can anyone confirm that this is actually a restrike, what these usually retail for now and any other comments on the coin? Appreciate any insights on the coin. Just very happy to have filled the 1823-hole although with just a counterfeit Thanks!
I hate to post this but I believe it's the regular strike. I looked at a lot of images of both types of strikes before posting. I could be wrong. I do think there is something going on with the 23 in the date. I'm not an expert on this but I like the coin.
Regular strike N-2 die stage B. The restrike was made using this same obv die in a later stage with that "lump" as a cud that stretched from star 4 to star 7, and the rev die was from 1813 S-293 and the point of the leaf below S2 was nearly a third of the way to the O in OF.
Thanks for the reply! I have heard that the restrike is more rare than the original 1823, but I have seen that the catalog values for the original far exceeds the restrike. Why is that so? Also - would you assume an about VF-20 grade for this specimen?
Obverse seems mushy, slight damage reverse rim 11 o'clock. I wouldn't be higher than F-15. There are some good details, Liberty, hair, date, the reverse seems a little crisper. Sometimes leeway is given on 200 old coins, and good dates. VF-20 might be possible.
Overall, yes the restrike is much rarer, BUT the 1823 business strikes are rare in VF and above. It is fairly easy to find in VG or lower, tough in Fine. The restrikes on the other hand were not made to circulate, they were made to sell to collectors so they are rare below AU. So in XF and above the 1823 business strike is rarer than the restrike. As far as grade, Sharpness of a F-12, Maybe F-15, rev shows some rim dents and a rim cut above A1, possibly some old corrosion at A2. Can't trust the color from the images, my guess would be a net EAC grade of VG 8 to 10.
